Lebanese Lack 'will' To Reconcile - Moussa
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Arab League chief Amr Moussa said before traveling to Damascus on Friday that the solution to Lebanon's political crisis is not stalled over the makeup of the next cabinet but over a lack of genuine desire to end the impasse. 'It is not an issue of numbers or percentages. Things will not advance in the absence of true political will to end the crisis,' Moussa said after a three-hour meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday.
'We are advancing slowly. We hope to achieve results soon,' he added.
Asked if he was 'planning' for the election of a new president during the session scheduled for Monday, Moussa said 'the session should take place as scheduled; I am not to plan what happens.'
He said his meeting with Berri was positive, adding that the differences between the rival camps over implementing an Arab League plan aimed at ending the crisis could be solved through a third party.
'But this third party, which is an Arab one, must be always ready to facilitate solutions,' he said.
The three-point Arab plan calls for the immediate election of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as president, the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new electoral law for the 2009 legislative elections.
After differences over interpreting the Arab plan, namely the part related to the formation of the unity government, Moussa explained on Thursday that the initiative denies the opposition veto power in the cabinet, while denying the ruling coalition absolute majority.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said in a statement on Friday that Christian opposition leader General Michel Aoun has proposed in his Thursday meeting with March 14 coalition leaders Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 and Amin Gemayel the formation of a non-voting cabinet.
This 'proves that the opposition is not willing to elect a new president as it wants to change the cabinet into a presidential council,' Geagea said.
Also Friday, Moussa met Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and former Premier Najib Mikati.
'I will ask God to help us elect a new president on Monday,' Moussa told reporters while accompanying Siniora to the Friday noon prayer at the Grand Serail.
The Central News Agency (CNA) on Friday quoted parliamentary majority sources as saying that Moussa's formula for the next cabinet gives the opposition a fixed number of 10 ministers, while giving the ruling coalition 13 or 14 seats and leaving the rest for the president. The sources said the opposition is not likely to accept such a formula as it has not yet given up its demand of veto power.
'The majority has already made a concession by giving up absolute majority in cabinet. We will not make any more concessions,' one of the sources said. 'Syria is still not ready to accept or facilitate any solution.'
The CNA also quoted sources close to Aoun as saying that the opposition will only drop its demand of veto power if it gets 'serious' guarantees from the ruling coalition.
'The ruling coalition has a history of not respecting its commitments. For that reason, the opposition will be looking for very serious and binding guarantees,' the sources said.
Also on Friday, opposition Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh said his attack against Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir was triggered by Sfeir's criticism of the opposition.
In a Cabinet meeting on Friday, Siniora condemned the campaign against the prelate. He also voiced the government's support for the Arab initiative, describing the meeting between Hariri, Aoun, and Gemayel as a 'good step forward.'
In addition, the Cabinet condemned Tuesday's bombing attack targeting a US Embassy vehicle in Karantina, as well as the deadly raids conducted by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Hariri's media office slammed Aoun for claiming in an interview with an Iranian television that late Premier Rafik Hariri had said he supported the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon as a decision that needs to be taken in return for canceling Lebanon's international debts. Aoun backed up his claim by a General Security document that dates back to 2000.
'Aoun's claim is a false one and the document that he presented to prove his claim is fabricated by Syrian intelligence,' the office said.
In a related development, European Union foreign ministers from Mediterranean countries on Friday voiced their support for the Arab League effort to help rival Lebanese leaders overcome their differences and elect a president.
'On Lebanon, we pledged our full support to the Arab League initiative to resolve the current political impasse,' the ministers of 10 states said in a joint statement after a meeting in Cyprus 'We also acknowledge the importance of the role played by Syria. Consequently the EU should define a consistent policy toward Syria,' the ministers added.
Lebanon has been without a president since midnight on November 23, when Emile Lahoud's term ended, and Parliament has failed to hold an election 12 times since September. |
